Whoa, you guys. Brace yourselves. Today’s wedding is amazing for about a million reasons. First off, I assume that no one ever takes my advice (I know that might be crazy, but it’s sort of my base line assumption), and I was staggered to find that Emily did. Advice I left in the comments no less. When Emily left a comment stressed about how to plan her elopement, I pointed out that, no matter what the wedding media is preaching these days, the whole beauty of elopements is that there is nothing to plan. You grab the love of your life, the outfit, and maybe some flowers, and you run off and do it (or as Alyssa so eloquently told us, “What Grammy kept telling you really is true. All you need is the man, the preacher and the dress. Or the woman, the officiant and two dresses. Or WHATEVER. But that really is all you need.”) And no, you don’t need to plan a wedding after you elope, because marriage is the thing. So I am beyond thrilled to let Emily tell you the magical story of how her simple elopement went down in New Orleans, with chap-stick and Spin Pins. It’s going to start your week off just right.
My wedding was a very zero-to-sixty affair. In October, if you had asked me if I ever saw myself getting married, my reaction would have been equal parts cynical, haughty, and negative. Growing up, there was no happy marriage model in my life. The most important women in my life, my mother, my Nana, and my Aunt Lucinda, had four bad marriages between them, and I was determined to learn from their mistakes. I saw marriage as trading your independence and your sense of self for… actually, I wasn’t even sure what for. And I wasn’t terribly interested to find out.
But in November, everything changed, because my father was diagnosed with cancer and passed away quite suddenly. All I could think was that my Dad wouldn’t be there to walk me down the aisle. He wouldn’t be there to watch me get married. Further more, I realized that my boyfriend, the man who flew down on his Christmas break to help me pack up my Dad’s house, the man who was so lovely to all of the most important women in my life, that was the man that I wanted to marry.
I finished my final college classes from home while I tied up all the loose ends of my Dad’s estate. Mostly a lot of unpleasant phone calls to creditors and completing more paperwork than I thought possible. I visited my boyfriend a couple of times during all of this mess, but for the most part our relationship was text messages and falling asleep on the phone together at night. I flew back to school in May for graduation, which was a huge family affair. After I flew home again, we were having a continuation of a, “I can’t do this long distance thing anymore,” argument, and my boyfriend said, “Well, why don’t you just move in?” So I did. And after I moved in, we had a long conversation about our relationship, all our ups and downs and we decided, together, that we wanted to get married. So we started planning.
Despite my views on marriage, I always found elopement cute and romantic. A little Googling revealed that New Orleans had permissive marriage laws, and that seemed much more my style than Vegas. New Orleans has always had a special place in my heart. It’s a city of survivors, a good place for beginnings, and exactly where I wanted to start our life together.
Planning my wedding was one of the most freeing things I’ve ever done, which is weird, because I am a control freak. I imagine if we’d had a big wedding I would have been fretting about flowers or if our families were going to get along with each other or all kinds of things that I can’t even imagine. I commented on APW about trying to plan my elopement and Meg said, basically, stop it. Go get married.
So I let things go. I turned to Google and within the week I had ordered a dress, our wedding bands, a pair of shoes. I’d found a minister, a photographer, and a florist. I tried to find a hairdresser in New Orleans and had visions of a fabulous up-do shellacked to my head with a lot of hairspray, but I ended up going with Spin Pins instead. I didn’t pack any makeup, just chapstick. I planned my bouquet through text-only e-mails. We flew to New Orleans, got settled in the hotel, and took photos the day before our wedding. We were sweating from head to toe but we were so happy that we couldn’t stop smiling. I was smiling with my teeth, something I never do because I’m self-conscious of my smile, but I couldn’t help it. There was no stopping me.
On our wedding day, we put on our clothes that were wrinkled from the plane trip and sweaty from the photo session. Our minister called us on the phone and said she was going to be late, which freaked me out because I’ve heard it’s bad luck to get married on the half-hour. We drove to the park where we were going to get married and waited in the car. My soon-to-be-husband listened patiently while I babbled about superstitions and having a terrible feeling that everything in the entire world was going to go wrong, possibly forever. When she finally showed up at 4:30 on the nose, my man turned to me, squeezed my hand, and said, “You make your own luck.” I have never been more in love with him than in that moment.
The ceremony, as you can imagine, flew by. The minister snapped a picture of us. We said our vows. We exchanged rings. We kissed. We walked back to our rental car and drove to go get wedding beignets. It was divine.
I don’t regret eloping for a single second. Yes, it was hard to tell my family, particularly my favorite three women who were very upset that they didn’t get to do the whole wedding planning ritual with me. Two of them cried. But if I had a chance to go back and have a traditional wedding to appease them, I wouldn’t. I know that probably sounds selfish. But my new husband and I had each other all to ourselves in a city far away from home, isolated from everything. We managed to have a laid back, stress-free wedding, which is nothing short of a miracle given my personality. We had a peaceful start to our marriage after a really crazy few months, and I will always feel so blessed for that.
Photos by the amazing Maile Lani Photography in New Orleans
This is wonderful – brave and honest, and beautifully written. Thanks for sharing it with us, Emily!
Having just celebrated our first anniversary in New Orleans, I can see that it would be a wonderful place to elope to – it’s got exactly the kind of spirit I’d want if I was eloping. And it’s gotta be hard to beat a wedding breakfast of coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde. Yum.
December 13, 2010 4:43 am
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It is so lovely to literally hear the joy and utter clarity coming from Emily. Such a brave and honest decision, and the happiness is evident. Well done to them both!
…And wedding beignets… YUM and what a perfect wedding feast!
December 13, 2010 4:44 am
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Congratulations, Ian and Emily! Y’all look great together, and you have a beautiful smile, Emily! I’m always so excited to see a New Orleans wedding, and an interracial one at that too (you might me getting another one in your inbox soon, Meg). Hope the two of you have a wonderful life together making your own luck!
December 13, 2010 4:49 am
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Ah, this really got me!
“When she finally showed up at 4:30 on the nose, my man turned to me, squeezed my hand, and said, “You make your own luck.” I have never been more in love with him than in that moment.”
Starting my day with happy tears :)
December 13, 2010 4:57 am
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oh, me too, me too. thank you for this post – it IS a good way to start off the week.
December 13, 2010 5:24 am
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That line gave me shivers in a very good way.
December 13, 2010 7:26 am
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Yep, exactly. I love wedding graduates, but they get put down to the bottom of the priority list when I’m I have to choose how much APW I have time for. When I saw elopement and New Orleans, I was hooked. All the weddings featured are great, but this one was so sweet and honest. I lost it at that line. Something I don’t normally do with wedding graduate posts. Love it!
December 13, 2010 5:38 pm
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What a beautiful story :-) I love elopements. Unfortunately that’s not what we did… our mother’s were horrified to hear we wanted only immediate family at the wedding (about 15 people) so we ended up planning something slightly bigger. Toward the end of my planning craziness, we got a postcard from two very good friends, saying they had eloped in Hawaii! I was so surprised! So excited! And so jealous!!!! They had a fantastic story, amazing pictures, and none of the stress. Elopements really are cool and exciting, and even though our wedding turned out awesome, I think I would have been happy to elope! Good on you, and congratulations!
December 13, 2010 5:01 am
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I went to New Orleans for the first time last month, and I am so very much in love with that city! And … omg, Cafe Du Monde. Love, love, love!!!
The photo right below where Emily talks about smiling with her teeth really epitomizes her joy that day. How lovely that photo is! I know what you mean, too, about smiling with your teeth. I’ve always been self-conscious of my smile, too. But I couldn’t help it, either. :)
December 13, 2010 5:08 am
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Ditto the feeling self-conscious about my smile, but then I discovered it’s something The Boy likes best about me. I’ll bet your husband was pretty happy you were smiling like that :)
Congratulations on getting married and doing it your way! :)
December 13, 2010 5:16 am
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Emily, you have a beautiful smile! Thanks for sharing your story!
December 13, 2010 7:03 am
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Emily, can I just say thank you? Both for this really inspiring post, very timely for me as we’re planning to do something similar with just a few family members in attendance. But mostly for that line about the teeth. I have teeth that are crooked in front, and like you, I’ve always been a bit self-conscious of them and in pictures I almost always smile with my mouth closed. But looking at that picture of you, you have a freaking beautiful smile! Your teeth look perfect! Your happiness is radiating out of you! I’m going to learn from this and remember that a genuine smile is way more beautiful and perfect than my silly closed-mouth posed smiles. How silly I was to think that beauty is in the details, or that by hiding my imperfections and not just being myself I’d be more beautiful. Thanks for the wake up call!
December 13, 2010 10:26 am
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You know, my mother and female relatives are freaking out that my wedding is scheduled for 3:00 because you have to get married on the upstroke of the clock (3:30, 3:45 are fine, but not 3:00) or it’s bad luck. Emily heard it’s bad luck to get married on the half hour. Wedding superstitions are so dumb!
I like Ian’s advice, “You make your own luck”. I plan to use this whenever my mom is clutching her pearls and fanning away the vapors about this subject and any other superstitious bs she’s giving me a hard time about.
December 13, 2010 5:17 am
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Yeah, I’d heard that it was good luck to marry at the :30 but not at the :00. Well, my wedding started at 5:00 (just the most convenient time) so you can see much credence we gave to that!
December 13, 2010 8:32 am
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Haha, we planned for our ceremony to start at 4.30 but ended up pushing it to 5 when my coordinator came to me at 4.30 and said, “Um… only a third of the guests are here.” The air-conditioning in the church was automated and shut off at 5. But then – and we had no way of knowing this would happen or planning it – the later start time meant that when we started our vows, the sun hit the big stained glass window at the front of the church just right and flooded the whole room with the most amazingly warm light. Wedding magic.
Which I guess is to say that Emily’s Ian is totally right – you plan and you plan, but ultimately you make your own luck! :)
December 13, 2010 11:20 am
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NOLA is a city of pure magic. There is simply no other way to describe it. I loved it there and I was only there for a long weekend. Which park were some of those pictures in?…cuz I think it City Park which my God if it is so jealous. I would love to get married down there but, for me it’s important for the grandma’s to witness it and they are all rather aged….ok one I could stand to do without, but still there are 2 others i feel should be there.
If anyone is planning a trip to NOLA you have to try to make it up to their City Park. It’s bigger than Central Park and just a dreamy place.
Emily you and your hubby looked stunning. And your smile is beautiful and just so full of joy. The line about making your own luck got me too.
I need me some beignets and Po’boys now.
December 13, 2010 5:24 am
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I’m 99% sure the pictures were taken in Audubon Park, which is across from Tulane on St. Charles Avenue. City Park now requires any photo sessions to have a permit (which you need to pay for). Also, they’re now making people pay for permits to photograph in the park in Jackson Square (but you can do photos on the streets surrounding it…go figure). Anyway, if anyone has any other NOLA questions I’d be happy to answer them! (Any other APW folks down here? I’d go to Meetups…)
December 13, 2010 8:34 am
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I may be there in April for a conference. We’ll meet up at least.
December 13, 2010 8:38 am
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WOOHOO!
December 13, 2010 11:29 am
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Emily-Congratulations on your marriage & I’m so happy to see that y’all came to NOLA and enjoyed it!
A-L-I’m in the NOLA-area as well. I had no idea that you needed permits to take pictures in those areas!
December 13, 2010 11:57 am
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Hey Maria,
Glad to know there’s another one of us! I knew about the City Park one but neither my photographer nor I knew about the one for Jackson Square. We were meeting our photographer there when one of the maintenance guys asked to see our permit, and as we were leaving the park we saw the sign saying that permits were required. So we just stood outside the gates and took pictures in front of St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo instead.
December 13, 2010 2:00 pm
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I just had my engagement pictures taken in City Park about a month ago. I had no idea about the permit- I guess I squeaked in. Oops!
December 21, 2010 11:23 am
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A-L: I would love to ask you a few NOLA questions – could I email you? :)
February 15, 2011 8:16 am
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Your wedding sounds perfect.
December 13, 2010 5:29 am
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I’m crying happy tears…You do make your own luck, indeed!
December 13, 2010 5:32 am
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So cute. So so so darn happy. And your smile is flawless! My husband is another “always smiles with no teeth” people, and his teeth are proudly displayed in every single wedding picture. They’ll probably be some of the only photos taken in his adult life like that, and I think that adds a little extra something when you know that about him. I just look at them and think, “yeah, he was THAT happy” and smile.
December 13, 2010 5:34 am
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Never again be self-conscious about your smile — it is lovely! I’ve never seen more wonderful wedding photos! And even though I don’t know you, I am so proud of you for stepping up and doing what you felt you truly wanted. Hugs!
December 13, 2010 5:37 am
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I love this!!! I just love it!!!!! So true to starting the week out right!
December 13, 2010 5:42 am
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“You make your own luck.”
Perfect. Sounds like you’re making it AWESOME.
December 13, 2010 5:47 am
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I may or may not have cried reading this one. I must agree with the commenter who said she was proud even though she doesn’t know you.
December 13, 2010 5:52 am
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SO beautiful! Congratulations!
My favorite part…wedding beignets! I want those!
December 13, 2010 5:58 am
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Thank you for this post-perfect timing! My fiance and I are likely to elope (for a lot of reasons, including the fact that I’m a little pregnant!) and I love to read elopement stories- it’s reassuring to see that they are just as romantic as a ‘full-blown’ wedding.
And this is perfect, too: “And no, you don’t need to plan a wedding after you elope, because marriage is the thing.”
More wedding graduates elopement stories, please!
December 13, 2010 6:03 am
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“a little pregnant” …..I love it!! And congratulations!!
December 13, 2010 6:48 am
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We eloped and then had a wedding a year later on our anniversary. The courthouse elopement in my favorite tattered H&M dress will ALWAYS be more romantic. Congratulations and go for it!
December 13, 2010 8:29 am
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A little pregnant!!!!!! I put up every single elopement story that I get, because I’m determined to break the “elopements are selfish” taboo AND determined to convince people that you don’t have to plan an elopement (or have a wedding after). So if you elope, send me yours.
December 13, 2010 8:40 am
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*More* romantic, I think.
That’s not to say “better.” I’m having a “full-blown” wedding, as you put it, and the way I see it, a big party is more about the families and friends and the community (and maybe a bit about having a bigger party than you may ever have again).
Eloping is about just you two. What’s more romantic than that?
December 13, 2010 9:27 am
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CONGRATS!!
December 13, 2010 9:27 am
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Congratulations Elisabeth!! You are entering a very exciting time… and although I’m excited for my shotgun wedding, I sure do wish I could elope! (Especially when my MIL starts suggesting more expenses…)
December 13, 2010 10:10 am
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Thanks all! We are excited. Despite what family (and some friends) think, we were actually trying to get me pregnant, it is the right time for us. But now there are all these ‘oh my gosh, when will the wedding be?’ questions, assuming that we absolutely must marry before the baby arrives. Well, no. We don’t absolutely need to marry before then. We want to. for a lot of reasons.
In some ways, it feels like it ‘diminishes’ the wedding/elopement with people assuming that it is mainly because of the baby that we’re getting married.
Oh well. In a year or two, no one (hopefully) will remember the order in which we did things, and just be stoked for our tiny family.
December 13, 2010 10:56 pm
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This is so true. I had the “out of order” for a few friends, and for them, they were going to get married/commit their lives to one another ANYWAY, it just happens to be that the baby came first … whoops, but a happy whoops nonetheless. You’re absolutely right that everyone will forget and just be happy for you. For me, I was more, “Yay, wedding! Yay, baby! Happy times for you!” when I heard. :)
December 14, 2010 5:14 am
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I’m just all-over-smiling today! SO beautiful, SO happy you did send pictures (I remember those comments!) and just SO excited for you both! I’m with you in the feelings about marriage that you stated in the beginning, and in the moment of “oh, THIS is why, and THIS is who” clarity.
May the joy always outweigh the tears, and may you always make your own luck.
December 13, 2010 6:07 am
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What a beautiful story! I’m always happy to hear about a couple who made the right wedding-related choice for them, and I hope this inspires other couples who feel similarly.
Also, my college roommate eloped, and it worked out very well for her and her husband. She’d always told me that she wanted a small, intimate wedding (even before she met her now husband) but knew it wouldn’t happen because her mom and sister were so into the big wedding reception thing. She was horrified that she’d be in a room with two hundred people she didn’t know, just getting stressed. So they went to a judge, took pictures together, and had a beautiful day that was important to them. I know it’s caused some tension in her family that they weren’t there to share the experience, but at the end of the day it was the right move for my friend and her husband.
December 13, 2010 6:09 am
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Your wedding sounds amazing and the pictures are so happy and beautiful! It makes me just a little bit sadder that I couldn’t convince my guy to elope. :)
p.s. I love spin pins!
December 13, 2010 6:09 am
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Congrats! I love this post so much, and I’m so glad your wedding was so joyful, Emily. And girl, don’t you fret over “smiling with your teeth”! In these pictures you look radiant, amazing, so full of life and love. Smile big and own it.
And as someone who got engaged in NoLa, I love this post extra! :) I wonder if there’s a way to get “wedding beignets” for our wedding in CA…
December 13, 2010 6:21 am
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Cafe du Monde does sell the mix…
December 13, 2010 8:36 am
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This is true! I have the box in the cabinet as we speak. Mmm…..
December 13, 2010 9:50 am
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Lovely smile . . . Looks like you guys are making your own luck work for you already!
December 13, 2010 6:23 am
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“But my new husband and I had each other all to ourselves in a city far away from home, isolated from everything.”
This literally gave me goosebumps. Congratulations! What an amazing wedding. And, beignets!
December 13, 2010 6:28 am
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I should have some sort of wonderful comment but I am too distracted by the thought of beignets. Need. Now.
(Congratulations! This looks absolutely wonderful!!!)
December 13, 2010 6:31 am
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This is just so beautiful. Thank you, Emily, for sharing. You looked absolutely beautiful, and I loved your shoes. You really hit the nail on the head with the whole darn thing. You got the man, the preacher, and the dress, and that’s all that you needed!
Also, regarding the time: I’ve heard one should start the ceremony at the half-hour, because it’s good luck to be married as the hands of the clock are moving upward! And your husband is totally right– the two of you will make your own luck.
Congratulations!
December 13, 2010 6:47 am
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That was something my grandmother always told me, as well. So I fought hard to have our ceremony on the half hour. Of course, the timing of the venue wasn’t going to work that way, so our invites went out with 11am on them.
One then led to another, and our ceremony started half an hour late. Secretly, it was one of my favorite little things about the day. =)
December 13, 2010 8:01 am
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That is amazing!! Love those little victories. I hadn’t heard of that superstition before, but we decided to start at 5:30, and I LOVE the idea now; it’s just a little superstition, but so neat. There are superstitions for everything; rain is supposed to be good luck, or the tears of all the bride’s ex-boyfriends, or that the couple will have many children, OR that the bride will cry through the whole marriage. There are superstitions for everything. :)
December 13, 2010 8:12 am
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Wedding beignets…OMG, I’m jealous!
December 13, 2010 6:51 am
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Congrats! I love NOLA! My husband actually proposed on a visit there with beignets and coffee from Cafe du Monde. Not a bad way to be woken up! I will always love that city!
December 13, 2010 3:16 pm
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Beignets!!
An elopement wouldn’t have been right for me (I don’t think) but I will probably always wonder about how it would have felt to just run off and do it. Congrats on being brave enough to recognize what was right for you! It sounds like it was pretty darn perfect.
December 13, 2010 7:10 am
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An elopement would have been very right for me, but it would not have been right for my husband. Which, actually, is a little bit ironic – I’m the extrovert, I’m the one who loves to go to weddings, not him. And yet, HE wanted a Wedding. (He said it was because his mom wanted a Wedding, which is true, she did – but he rarely does things just because someone else wants him to do it, which tells me a part of him really wanted the Wedding, too.)
It turned out to be a wonderful choice, but that doesn’t change that I’m a tad bit jealous of the lovely, intimate elopement ceremonies I see featured both here and on Offbeat Bride.
December 14, 2010 5:19 am
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Oh, I don’t think it sounds selfish at all {ahem, I’m the one who desired an elopement and ended up with a huge wedding that I regret in many ways). I think it sounds like you did what was just perfect for you, and I am so happy for you both!
December 13, 2010 7:14 am
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AHHH!! AMAZING!!!! Best wedding grad, ever. I am a huge fan of elopements. This was such a great post to start my day off with.
December 13, 2010 7:23 am
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My parents eloped. I don’t know the whole story, but their wedding pictures are super cute, though my mom did say she would have liked to have had something better to wear and better pictures, but I think they’re just fine.
Growing up I always wondered why there weren’t any wedding pictures of them, when there were others of my aunts and uncles. It wasn’t until I got older that they had eloped. My mom wore a black jumper, my dad a simple black suit and a cane. They have been happily married for almost 40 years.
Congrats you two! I love elopements and I love hearing about them! I also love to see other interracial couples. You guys are adorable together!
Reading this made me super happy. :D
December 13, 2010 7:39 am
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This post got me all teary eyed with happiness. Congratulations on a beautiful wedding
December 13, 2010 7:40 am
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Yes! to wedding day beignets and cafe au lait. Beats wedding cake–seriously.
December 13, 2010 7:55 am
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New Orleans is magical. Nothing less. I know this because I dream of it day in and day out, having only been there once. This story makes it seem like a jealous city that wouldn’t tolerate the wonderfulness of this moment happening anywhere else!
But by the tears welling up in my eyes, I can see that the magical city didnt make this. How wonderful to know that you are your own little luck factory, and even more wonderful to find a partner that waited until the right moment to tell you so.
I hope I smile like you did and produce as much luck as you did on my own wedding day, in 8 days.
December 13, 2010 7:56 am
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They look so darn cute and happy!
December 13, 2010 8:03 am
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I have nothing to contribute to this conversation other ZOMFG I LOVE IT SO PRETTY!!!!!! Congrats!
December 13, 2010 8:06 am
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Elopements are the absolute best. And I’m so glad you opted out of Vegas. Most people don’t realize that many states have permissive marriage laws and it’s easier to elope to them than it is to Nevada.
I’ve seen a huge increase in elopements in the last two years.I think it’s one of the silver linings of a bleak economy. They are so intimate and stress free and I’ve yet to see one bride regret eloping.
And I LOVE the “unlucky” 13 photo. You go!
December 13, 2010 8:21 am
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New Orleans seems like a wonderful place to get married and so great to a find a place that suits you! In case anyone is looking into it, I got married in Vegas and had a super easy time arranging it. We stayed in the city and had the ceremony out in the desert at sunset and that suited us.
December 13, 2010 2:39 pm
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Thanks for sharing this! I love elopements (and may have my own one day!) and it’s encouraging to see other people going for it – there’s so much noise out there about how one “has to” have a wedding that sometimes we can forget that “the marriage is the thing.”
December 13, 2010 8:26 am
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Yea! What a great elopement. Ever since being engaged, I have very, very much respected those who elope. They are the bad-a$$es of the wedding world. AND my favorite photo is the one with you beaming with a wide open smile. Sheer happiness there, no?
December 13, 2010 8:27 am
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My husband and I went to New Orleans for our (first) honeymoon, and that city has magic in it. I LOVE that you got married there!! And even better– eloped there! My only (not really) critique about what you wrote: you gotta stop it with being self conscious about your smile. It is gorgeous. Seriously. I mean for God’s sakes you have dimples, woman!
December 13, 2010 8:32 am
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You do make your own luck. And you seem to be very lucky indeed.
December 13, 2010 8:43 am
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Congrats for your marriage!!!Yes, we do our own luck…..but sometimes we forgot we do it every second of our life
December 13, 2010 8:57 am
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I have never heard anything about the time on the clock being lucky or not.
I loved it when your fiance said “You make your own luck.” CONGRATULATIONS.
December 13, 2010 8:59 am
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YAAAAY for elopements – Lovely! Brave! Sweet! I’m grinning from ear to ear for this darling couple and their awesome wedding grad story. Congrats and years of happiness to them. XO
December 13, 2010 9:03 am
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“I don’t regret eloping for a single second. Yes, it was hard to tell my family, particularly my favorite three women who were very upset that they didn’t get to do the whole wedding planning ritual with me. Two of them cried. But if I had a chance to go back and have a traditional wedding to appease them, I wouldn’t.”
I love this part. Despite it being hard, you did what was right for you. You are so brave! :) :) Thanks for being an inspiration!
December 13, 2010 9:18 am
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beautiful and cheerful!
December 13, 2010 9:19 am
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Beautiful!!! We are getting married next Tuesday at the courthouse in New Orleans — not quite an elopement, though, as we’ll have our parents and my sister there.
December 13, 2010 9:37 am
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Write us a post! Send pictures.
December 13, 2010 10:17 am
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I just exactly’ed that post, when what I really meant was, “Yay!” :)
December 14, 2010 5:20 am
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Thanks!
Meg – I’ll try to work up the courage to send a post and pics. We’ll see : )
December 14, 2010 8:28 am
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I’ve mentioned it before, but for me an Exactly! can mean all of these things: “Yes! This!” / “Yay!” / “I empathize” / *hugs* / “Great idea!” / “Glad that worked out for you!”
So I totally would have understand that an Exactly! on that post meant “Yay!” :)
December 15, 2010 6:40 am
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This is weird, but I was totally thinking about Café du Monde last night for some random reason, so I particularly enjoyed seeing this elopement today! And I just love the beautiful detail on your dress, Emily!!!
December 13, 2010 10:17 am
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Elopment!!! Pretty dress!!! Beautiful smiles!!! New Orleans!!! Hydrangeas!!! Wedding Beignets!!!
I want to wrap myself up in this wedding and wear it like a warm happy coat. LOVES it.
December 13, 2010 10:22 am
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I know it’s already been said but I’ll say it again: You have a beautiful smile!!
December 13, 2010 10:23 am
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I played with the idea of eloping off and on through the whole engagement. The whole planning process is stressful. You are being pulled by so many obligations. I’m hoping we made the right choice to have a wedding and a reception, rather than just running off by ourselves.
December 13, 2010 10:41 am
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